Hry: BJP-JJP govt harassing Brahmins by 'snatching' ownership of donated lands, says Cong

Haryana's main opposition Congress on Tuesday accused the BJP-JJP government of harassing the Brahmin community by "snatching" their ownership rights of donated lands.

The matter was raised in the State Assembly by party MLA Kuldeep Vats, who was supported by former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is the Leader of Opposition and other legislators.

Vats, who staged a walkout from the House and later held a protest outside the Assembly, condemned the alleged conspiracy being carried out against the Brahmin community by the Haryana government.

Vats said that the Congress-led state government had bestowed ownership rights of donated land to people of Brahmin community by enacting a law in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha after which as many as 37,836 'Dholidars' and 3,838 'Bhondedars' respectively became owners of more than 14,187 acres and 5,000 acres of land.

The Congress leader alleged that the BJP-JJP government has been trying to evict the Brahmin community from their land and snatching away the entitlements of about 50,000 Brahmin families.

The previous Congress government in the state had enacted a law in 2011 aimed at vesting property rights of land to Dholidars -- people from the Brahmin community who got this land as gift from landowners nearly a century ago -- for a token compensation of Rs 500 per acre.

Notably, the BJP government in 2018 had amended the law barring property rights of panchayat land to Dholidars. The Congress is opposing the amendment.

Intervening in the issue, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala informed the state Assembly that as much as 1245 acres of panchayat land was donated to Dholidars.

The Haryana government has maintained that only private land can be donated to Dholidars.

Dushyant, who also holds the revenue and panchayat department portfolios, challenged Hooda to seek a probe into the donation of panchayat land.

"If you demand, the government is ready to order an inquiry into the matter," said Chautala in the House.

However, Hooda kept insisting that the government should not take back the land donated to Dholidars.